Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

A super tangy icebox pie made with lime juice, lime zest and a packet of lime Kool-Aid. This one is made in a pretzel crust, but a homemade or commercial graham cracker crust works great too! Substitute lemon for lemon icebox.

Lime Icebox Pie

As soon as I opened my mail and discovered this little treasure...

I knew exactly what I was gonna do with it.

Now you might be wondering what the heck is Christy Jordan of Southern Plate fame doin' sending Mary a packet of Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid and a Splenda Quick Pack in the mail?? Christy and I started blogging southern food pretty much right around the same time and well, it's a funny story how we "met," and it all started with these.Well, long story short... all those boxes of Splenda Quick Packs {and oddly enough, sharing a shelf with a box of powdered sugar too} were purchased with my misguided attempt to do a long term low carb diet. Okay... you can stop laughing now, I know ... trust me, I'm laughing right along with you, and yes, at myself.

Anyway... I kept hearing about how seasoned low carbers were baking formerly carby goodies now banned from the world of low carb by using these packets in place of regular Splenda since one little packet is equal to the sweetness of a cup of Splenda {or sugar} and, because the packets were much lower carb than an entire cup of Splenda would be. But, Splenda decided to discontinue these little packets so the Splenda Quick Packs ended up where many such consumer rejects do, at Big Lots, and low carbers were buying them by the shopping baskets full. And I was one of them.

I had run across Christy's blog one day and learned from visiting her that she was a big fan of Splenda, so I eventually decided to email her and see if she would be interested in any of these Quick Packs. I stuffed as many boxes as I could fit into a flat rate box and joyfully mailed them out to her. And I was immediately able to alleviate guilt on both of our parts.

Now Christy also loves lime Kool-Aid, and while I was instructed by her to make a pitcher of this Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid and drink it, as soon as I opened the envelope, I grinned from ear to ear ... but I also knew that this recipe would be right up her alley, because it is built around a can of this!

But, because I'm dealing with the self-proclaimed Jordan Queen of Generics, I realized since this pie is in Christy's honor, I just had to use this instead. See Christy, I do use some generics sometimes!

So, let's make a pie in honor of Christy Jordan's love of Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid, and, in turn, it is my hope that this will invoke thoughts of summertime and the hot summer sun, swimming pools and beaches {and maybe even cabana boys} and little fruity umbrella drinks for those of you suffering the odd temperament of Mother Nature as she dumps a load of late snowfall across the rest of the country north of here. This recipe is based on a pie from the Kraft Food & Family magazine a few years back. If you like tangy, you are gonna love this!!

Here are the cast of characters. Some ground up pretzels, a can of condensed milk, 3 limes, some butter, some sugar, some Cool Whip and of course, the guest of honor - a pack of unsweetened, Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid.

First, let's start with the crust. We're makin' a crust out of pretzels! Grind up some pretzels in the food processor until they are fairly fine. If you don't have a food processor, just mash 'em up in a zipper bag with a rolling pin. To that add some sugar.

And some melted butter.

And press into a glass pie plate. Stick that in the freezer until you need it. I actually pressed this out a little more than it looks. What I do is press all around and then push the edges down and start pressing all over again. I guess I forgot to take another picture, but if you look below where I fill it, you'll see it's more up to the rim.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a medium sized bowl, and add the contents of the Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid packet.

Then the lime juice.

And stir until well blended.

Don't forget the zest!

Don't you just love seein' those little specks of green?

Remove about 1/2 cup of the Cool Whip and set that aside. You'll return that to the tub in a sec and put it in the fridge for later.

Add the remaining Cool Whip to the lime mixture.

And gently fold it in, pulling the mixture from the bottom to the top repeatedly, until it is well blended. Don't beat it! You don't want to deflate the Cool Whip - you want to retain it's fluffy texture.

Makes you just want to stick a spoon in it doesn't it?

Now just dump the mixture into your frozen pie shell.

And spread it evenly around.

I like to take the tip of the spatula and do little swirls around the top, working from the outside toward the inside. Course that's optional {smile} and you don't have to. But it is kinda cute.

Now, just stick the pie in the freezer and let is sit till dinnertime, oh, about 4 or 5 hours maybe, or overnight is even better.

And Christy, just to prove that I actually can follow directions...

Cheers!!

Mmmmmmm... now does this not just speak to spring y'all?

If you think this sounds yummy, I'd sure ♥ it if you'd click to pin it, tweet it, stumble it, or share it on Facebook to help spread the word - thanks!

Pulverize the pretzels to a fairly fine crumb. To that add the sugar and stir well to combine. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbs are well coated. Pour into an ungreased glass pie plate and press out to the rim of the pie plate. Stick in the freezer.

In a medium bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, lime zest, and Kool-Aid and whisk until smooth. Remove about 1/2 cup of the Cool Whip from the tub and set that aside for later. Gently fold the remaining Cool Whip into the lime mixture until well blended. Pour this into the frozen crust and return to the freezer for several hours, or preferably overnight.

Let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes to thaw. To make it easier to remove from the pan, grab a large skillet and place a small amount of very hot water in it. Gently set the pie plate into the hot water, taking care that water does not go over the rim! Let it sit for about 30 seconds, and this will help to release the pretzel crust for easier serving.

Serve with a dollop of the remaining Cool Whip. Store leftovers in the freezer.

Cook's Notes: The Kool-Aid in this recipe just provides a little color and some extra zing to the tartness. It is optional however and can be omitted. Substitute a drop of green food coloring for the color. To shortcut this, substitute a pre-made or homemade graham cracker or cookie crust.

Variation: Make this lemon icebox by substituting lemon zest, lemon juice and a packet of lemonade flavored Kool-Aid.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

LOL I am a FOLLOWER of BOTH of your blogs! LOL and guess what? I am a SOUTHERNER TOO! (NOLA/NATCHITOCHES......... displaced in VA)now I love CHRISTY and have featured her on my site I think I need to make you , MARY the same offer.........wanna guest post and trade links?

Hey Anjie! We sure can discuss both of those ideas! I think I have a couple of your sites listed on my frugal links on the lower right hand sidebar of my page. I have actually thought about the webring thing since there didn't appear to be one, but never got past anything more than thinking about it LOL! Plus, I have no idea how to create the graphics, buttons, etc. for it anyway.

If I would have read this post a few hours earlier today, I'd be in my car getting to the grocery store as fast as I could to get the ingredients to make this luscious looking pie. It's still wet and cold in the Midwest and my wishing for warm weather is even more so after reading about this pie. Gotta make it this weekend. Thanks for the post!

Well, I am a Christy´s Blog fan and came here through it. I just loved the post and the story! Isn´t it great how love goes through the www?How amazing is to get a package from someone you just read and coment in the blog and realize that the person took the time to think about you, make the package and sent just for your joy?The pie looks great!I also have a food blog, is in Portuguese cause I am from Brazil but I am managing to translate as many recipes as I can to post there.Loved your blog!Kisses from São Paulo!Verena

Okay.. I hate to admit it, but I never have had Kool-Aide.. but this one looks refreshing!! Although my Mom lives with me, I'll try to hide the package from her, LOL! Oh and the pie, all I can say is YUMMMMMM!!!! I think the salt on the pretzels will just make the lime pop!! Can't wait to try this, but just got back from Wally World, LOL will have to wait for another trip! Thanks for all that you do, you and Christy are the BEST!!!!

I have never seen this made with kool-aid and real fruit before, but usually with frozen concentrate instead. Of course, it makes sense to do it this way, too!

And do you know how hard it can be to find lime kool-aid?!? I haven't tried up here in the pacific northwest, but it had gotten very hard to find in Texas. Is it still available in Mississippi? I might have to get some family to ship me some. ;-)

Hi Melissa. I haven't looked for it lately, but we got these at Walmart & there were plenty of them at the time. Course that was a few years ago & I suspect its a seasonal item. Truth is, you could really just leave it out. The fresh juice & zest pretty much have you covered on the tartness of this pie!

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